Lamento

Magdalena is struggling to cope with a major crisis in her life: some time ago her daughter Sara committed suicide. Magdalena finds herself consumed by a grief she cannot overcome. Although the event has shattered her world, she nonetheless manages to ‘function’ smoothly on a daily basis – whether this involves trying to sell Sara’s dog Truls, picking up her second daughter’s son from his piano lesson, eating with the family of an evening, attending a session with a spiritualist or going to a bar. These are all things she would have done anyway, and a strict routine helps prevent her pain from rising to the surface. Only when Sara’s former boyfriend visits does she begin to see a path through all her denial, speechlessness and feelings of guilt.

Swedish actor Gunilla Röör’s impalpable yet robustly tangible interpretation of the role describes the void that has opened up as a result of the daughter’s death, but also allows the repressed pain to shine through, oscillating as it does between fragility and defiance, despondence and the strength of resolve.

Source: 64. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)